The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-11-19
JUDGMENT AND MERCY.
EXPLANATORY NOTES BY REV. GEO.
p. HAYS, D. D., L.. D.

Fourth Quarter) for Nov. 2O-Text of
the Lesson, Matt. II, 1880, Golden Text.
Matt. ri, 20.
Some lessons are 80 familiar and 80 easy
and so precious to the heart Of the Christian
world as to make them exceedingly hard to
explain. This lesson Is one Of these Verses
1926, and especially ~, 20 and 80, have come
to be like proverbs in the mind of the church !;
and % to 80 ought to be In the memory of
every Christian OF course, a Landlord will
expect larger rent from the tenant Of his
large and fruitful farm than from the tenant
Of the little cabin, with only its potato patch
in addition. So also, of course, increased OPP
portunities increase responsibilities. This is
simply the common sense Of business and
daily life applied to religion.
Mighty works.-With these verses before
US our curiosity is excited to ask what mighty
works were done in Chorazin, Bethsaida and
Capernaum. As to Chorazin there is no
record whatsoever of any works done there.
The same is true Of Bethsaida. As Is stated
in John xxi, rs, all Christs miracles are
not reported in the New Testament. or
Chorazin scarcely anything is known. Beth
saida was possibly the birthplace of Peter,
Andrew and Philip. Capernaum was the
home Of Christ, and at the time Of the public
ministry the residence of Peter. Many things
are recorded as having been done or spoken
in Capernaum. OF Capernaum, however,
this is to be noted, that it is not once men
toned in the Old Testament, nor anywhere
outside of the four Gospels in the New TeSta-
ment.
Degrees of punishment.-Verses % and "a
explicitly teach the doctrine of comparative
punishment Gods system of penalties is not
like prison wall or furnace Of fire, where
every one suffers precisely the same. Accord
ing to each ones desert, SO will be the severity
of each ones suffering. The Revised Version
translates the word hell of v. 90 by the word
hades. Two Greek words are translated
in the Authorized Version of the New Testa-
ment by the English word hell In the Re-
vised Version the distinction between these
two Greek words is maintained by translate
ing the one Of them hades. This word, like
the sheol Of the Old Testament, means the
condition OF the dead, without necessarily in
volving the idea Of suffering. Christ entered
into hades by his becoming dead, but did not
enter into hell. Hades, as here applied to
Capernaum, means its disappearance from
the face OF the earth as buried people disap-
pear Tyre and Sidon and Sodom had not
as much light and opportunity as Chorazin
and Bethsaida and Capernaum, but they had
enough to leave them without excuse. The
enormousness of the punishment of Chorazin
Bethsaida and Capernaum is shown in the
fact that their locality is matter of dispute
among travellers Of the present day. But the
sites Of Tyre and Sidon are known and inhab-
tied towns still exist in both places.
This doctrine Of the resulting obligations
arising from providential mercies underlies
verse rs. Wisdom often works itself out into
an egotism which destroys the simple Gospel.
Verso 26 is the only explanation which we
are able to give of the unrevealed reasons for
Gods distinguishing providences. A deaf
and dumb boy was once asked why he was so
afflicted while his questioner had both speech
and hearing. Going to the blackboard, he
wrote as his answer this twenty verse.
Happy is the Christian, old or young, who
Is able to rest content in the presence Of
Gods mysterious dealings, in the faith in
volved in that verse;
God manifested manifest in the flesh
il the highest and clearest revelation God
nas made. The indwelling Of the Saviour,
as matter OF experience, is the best inter
u
God given in the word The external revsla-
ton and the internal experience are thus
mutually explanatory A blind man has
great difficulty in understanding much about
the science Of optics. So unconverted per-
sons may study the Bible, but they cannot
understand it as those do whose inward ex-
perience answers to and explains the mean
ing Of Gods threatenings and promises.
What is rest?-That is really work that
works out only into disappointment and fail
ure. Labor is the active side of suffering and
heavy laden is its passive side. Lifting when
we are well is not necessarily very painful,
especially if the burden is not disproportion-
ately heavy; but if we have a disocated
shoulder and broken arm and an infiamed
muscle, any lifting is torture. We were made
to work in harmony with God. When then
we come to resist him, we are wrenching and
twisting ourselves. To do Gods will was the
work for which man was made When there
fore Christ says, II will give you rest" he
does not mean that thereafter you shall have
nothing whatever to do. Spiritual inactivity,
which is neither good nor bad is an impossi-
bility to any human being. What we need
therefore is not idleness, but work which
shall not be WEAKNESS
Christs rest-So Christ's exhortation,
"learn Of me" is in the line of this perfect
adaptation of the worker to his work. The
yoke he bore was the will Of his Father, and
in his meekness and his lowliness of heart it
was his meat to do this will and to finish the
work which he was sent to do. That yoke
was easy to him and that burden light to
him. 1t goes therefore to the heart of the
question of our likeness to Christ when he
says to us, my yoke is easy and my burden
is light" He does not merely mean the yoke
and the burden which he will give to his
people and require them to take; he includes
in the phrase "my yoke and my burden" the
yoke and burden he himself has borne. In
order, however, to find these easy it is neces-
sary that we should take on his nature, his
love for God and his hatred for sin. This
burden will be heavy to the unrenewed
heart, but it will be light to the unregenerate
nature In him, therefore, alone can that
adaptation to the task we have to do be Sc
cured which will make these tasks easy Of
performance
REMEMBER.
l. Willfulness, not lack of evidence, is the
cause Of unbelief.
2. The day of judgment will come.
g MANY who ara exalted will Ia brought